Dog facing last chance for adoption

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Dog facing last chance for adoption102805 news17Athens Banner-HeraldBo-Bo's execution date was to have been Wednesday, but was stayed indefinitely with the hope of a pardon - in the form of an adoption.--> Dog facing last chance for adoption Rescued from abusive conditions Story Photos Bo-Bo as he looked in August, with his skin and hair ravaged by mange, was one of 14 dogs picked up by animal control officers. No one has expressed interest in adopting the dog and he is facing euthanization. File

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By Joe Johnson | joe.johnson@onlineathens.com | Story updated at 11:31 PM on Friday, October 28, 2005 Bo-Bo's execution date was to have been Wednesday, but was stayed indefinitely with the hope of a pardon - in the form of an adoption.

The 5-year-old terrier mix was one of 14 sick and malnourished dogs that had lived in conditions so squalid, the urine-soaked floor of their owner's River's Edge Apartment collapsed onto the apartment below in July.

All of the dogs were impounded in August, both here and in Oglethorpe County, and owner Dave Watkins was charged in Oglethorpe with three counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty and heavily fined in Athens.

An Athens-Clarke Magistrate Court judge last month set a euthanization date of Wednesday for three of the impounded dogs, and that order was carried out for two because their mean tempers and unsocial behavior - the result of abuse - made them unadoptable, according to Bill Wise, an Athens-Clarke Animal Control supervisor.

Bo-Bo, who once was in the worst condition - covered with sores, hip bones pushing through the skin and suffering from two types of mange - improved physically and became more comfortable around people.

In the two months Bo-Bo has been at Animal Control's Beaverdam Road facility, however, not a single person has expressed interest in adopting him, Wise said.

"People look, stop and read his story and say how sad it is, and move on," he said.

Although his health is mostly restored, Wise said, Bo-Bo's not an attractive animal. A veterinarian said his fur never will fully grow back.

"He's really bad looking, and it will take someone willing to take on long-term health problems" to adopt him, Wise said.

He said it is unclear how much longer the county can keep Bo-Bo at the pound, which is filled to capacity.

"We're almost at the point if someone surrenders a dog, it'll have to be euthanized immediately," he said. "We're so full, other dogs will have to go for us to try to save this one."

Neither Reddish nor Hoard could be reached for comment Thursday.

Bo-Bo's plight came to authorities' attention July 28, when a woman living in River's Edge Apartments on Sycamore Drive complained she had to use buckets to catch urine leaking through her ceiling, even before her ceiling came crashing down.

An investigation by Athens-Clarke Animal Control caused Watkins to move nine of the animals to Oglethorpe County, but he kept five. Animal control officers impounded those dogs when they decided in a follow-up visit that he hadn't improved their conditions or vaccinated them for rabies.

One of the dogs was so sick it was euthanized, and Watkins paid $1,200 in fines and fees to reclaim the other four Aug. 2, agreeing that local animal control officers could continue to check on them after he moved them to Oglethorpe County.

When animal control officers, accompanied by sheriff's deputies, checked on the animals Aug. 24, they found the dogs in crates on undeveloped land owned by Watkins' family in the Sandy Cross community, according to Cpl. James Jackson of the Oglethorpe County Sheriff's Office.

"They were in the elements without water or food sources," Jackson said. "They had hair loss and malnutrition."

Watkins was charged in Oglethorpe and fined $870 for animal neglect in Athens, Wise said.

The dogs not impounded in Athens were placed at the Madison-Oglethorpe Animal Shelter, according to Jackson, who said Watkins has petitioned the Northern Judicial Circuit district attorney's office to have his dogs returned.

"They'll either let him have them back, or the shelter will put them up for adoption," Jackson said.

Adoption options

To adopt Bo-Bo or another homeless animal, call Athens-Clarke Animal Control at (706) 613-3540 or drop by the shelter at 45 Beaverdam Road Extension.